Tax Advice Stockton CA

Preparing and filing tax forms often requires the knowledge of a tax professional or CPA in order to find tax advantages and benefits, as well as to make certain of the accuracy and completion of the proper forms. Taxes are applied to a wide variety of things including income, property, sales and much more, and the laws governing these taxes vary between states. Aside from financial professionals, tax software have been developed to help those struggling to understand tax forms and filing procedures. For individuals, or more commonly, companies, with more complex tax issues, advisory services are usually necessary to avoid audits by the IRS.

Tax Advice

Taxes

H&R Block Inc. (HRB - Analyst Report) reported fiscal third quarter 2010 (ended Jan 31, 2010) net income of $50.6 million or 15 cents, up from $47.4 million or 14 cents in the year-ago period. However, income from continuing operations was 16 cents, down 4 cents from the prior-year period. Results were slightly ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 14 cents, primarily driven by cost cuts.

However, revenues were down 5.9% from the prior-year period to $934.9 million as the company prepared fewer tax returns. This was partially offset by a 5.9% decrease in operating expenses from the prior-year period to $840.4 million. The decrease reflects the benefits from the company’s cost cutting initiatives.

Revenue from the Tax Service decreased 6.2% year-over-year to $747.7 million. The decrease stemmed from a 7.1% decrease in total retail tax returns prepared. Pre-tax income was $131.2 million compared with $133.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

RSM McGladrey (RSM) reported a 3.6% year-over-year drop in revenues to $6.7 million. The decrease reflects the weak economic environment. However, the company posted a pre-tax loss of $11.2 million compared with a pre-tax income of $10.7 million a year ago, primarily due to a $15.0 million goodwill impairment related to RSM's capital markets business.

RSM and McGladrey & Pullen LLP entered into new definitive agreements in February concerning their alternative practice structure. As a result, RSM incurred $3.3 million of legal and consulting expenses related to these negotiations in the reported quarter.

Corporate operations reported a pre-tax loss of $22.5 million compared with a loss of $42.4 million in the prior-year quarter. The decrease in loss reflects a decrease in expenses. This stemmed from reductions in self-insured liabilities, lower interest expense on corporate borrowings and a decrease in loss provisions on mortgage loans held for investment.

Know Your IRS Tax Levy Rights

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), all taxpayers have rights with regard to tax levies:

1. If an agreement is made between the IRS and the taxpayer that a back tax liability is not collectible, then the IRS is required to release an IRS wage levy. 2. The IRS may not place a lien on the taxpayer’s residence in situations when the amount of the IRS tax levy is less than $5,000. 3. Once the collection statute of limitation expires the IRS is required to stop all collection efforts and cancel the IRS tax levy. 4. 30 days before issuing a tax levy the IRS is required to send a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to A Hearing (levy notice). 5. Taxpayers have a right to a hearing and must be notified of this at least 30 days before the levy is filed. 6. A taxpayer may request to have an appeals officer hear the case, but may not challenge the actual tax unless there was no previous opportunity to do so. 7. Taxpayers have 30 days to appeal unsatisfactory outcomes to the U.S. Tax Court or Federal Court.

The IRS asserts that it does not typically release levies on a bank accounts once issued. However an aggressive tax professional may be able to get a partial or full release if the monies in the account are needed for medical expenses, housing expenses, transportation expenses, payroll, etc. There is a small window of 21 days to do this ... just enough time for a taxpayer to contact a competent tax professional.

Attribution: Victoria J. Burns has over 25 years of experience preparing Federal, state, and payroll tax returns. She’s helped thousands to resolve their tax problems and settled millions of dollars in tax debt. Victoria is an active member of the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers and National Association of Tax Professionals. She leads the team of professionals at AmeriPride Tax Group helping clients through tax audits, offers in compromise, levy/lien releases, penalty abatements and other tax issues. AmeriPride Tax Group

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